Unplanned Thoughts And Reflections About Walking With Christ

The Underdog

This has got to be one of my favorite songs of all times. The band is called Spoon and they are one of favorite artists. I love a great indie rock song like this. It is upbeat, catchy, and makes you feel good after listening to it. Also, there is a lyric that stands out to me in this song. It is the line that says, “You got no fear of the underdog and that’s why you will not survive.”

That line kind of inspires me. I feel like the underdog a lot in my life. I’m sure everyone relates to my sentiment. I mean, isn’t that why people love Rocky so much? It is because he is the underdog. The one you don’t expect to win. Everyone can relate to that and everyone enjoys cheering for the underdog.

Sometimes life can leave us beaten down, tired, and completely worn out. It is in those moments that we don’t even have the energy to try to be happy or grateful for what we do have. In those moments we become the underdog, but true underdogs never give up. Just like Rocky in the first movie. He knew he wasn’t going to win, but he fought anyway and proved that he could last the entire fight.

He never gave up.

Even in some of our darkest moments we are called not to give up. We are Christian Warriors on a spiritual battlefield. We are the underdogs in a war against sin, the devil, and hordes of unseen demons. So, lets start by reminding ourselves of Psalm 144:1 “Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength, Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight”

DAVID AND GOLIATH

Yes, I know. We all learned about this story in Sunday School class and you think you know where I am going with this one. David is an underdog and God gave him the strength to beat Goliath.

Ok, that is a very predictable point, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. David was the ultimate underdog in this situation, but his faith in God was so strong that he took out a trained giant without any weapons expect a stone. That just shouldn’t be possible. It is like taking out a tank with a spear. It just doesn’t make sense, but David’s faith made him the underdog that should have been feared.

David picked up five stones before killing Goliath. Many scholars believe that was for a good reason. Goliath was just the beginning for David. He had four stones left over and Goliath had four brothers. David was planning ahead to deal with the rest of Goliath’s family.

Like the song says, they had no fear of David and that is why they would not survive.

GIDEON

Sometimes God wants us to be an underdog. That is what happened to Gideon.

Gideon was chosen to free Israel from the Midianites. Seems simple enough. When you are chosen by God the odds are always in your favor. So, Gideon get his army together, but God stops him. He tells him that he has to shrink his army.

Alright, so now Gideon is getting a little nervous. God has just told him to go in with less men. Then God tells him to decrease the army again. After that Gideon’s group of men can hardly be called an army. It is really just a group of guys that have swords. God made them underdogs.

Then when they defeated the Midianites it was a true miracle. It should have been impossible therefore God had to of intervened. If Gideon went in with the original army it wouldn’t have been a miracle at all. It could have been a case of good luck and timing. Gideon could have taken the credit at that point, but God wants us to be underdogs sometimes. How can he fight our hardest battles if we can take care of it on our own?

Remember it is good to be the underdog. It means God has set you up for a big win.

JESUS

When you think about it, Jesus came to earth as an underdog. Born in a manger, lived as a simple carpenter, and kept fishermen as his closest friends. Doesn’t sound like the King of Kings to me.

He kept a low profile and was meek. He didn’t charge in and take over Rome. He didn’t bring an army and declare himself king. He quietly spread the good news of salvation. He set people free with truth. Then when it came down to it, he sacrificed himself and solidified our entrance into heaven by defeating death.

Sounds like an underdog story to me. Actually, it sounds like God favors underdogs. It is when all hope is lost that we can count on him to give us a victory. When our battlefield seems bleak to us it is an opportunity for God to display his love, strength, and power. Our enemies will not survive as long as we have faith that our God fights for the underdog. When the odds are stacked against you and you feel beaten up, just remember that God loves the underdog.

3 thoughts on “The Underdog”

I really like that verse. What translation is it? It is a really encouraging way of looking at a situation, to consider myself an underdog rather than the losing side. I may not understand why God is allowing it to seem like I’m being defeated, but these examples show God always works with what He’s given us to accomplish His purpose. A reminder I can often use.